Tea, coffee can be imported from Ethiopia at affordable rates, says envoy

KARACHI: Ambassador of Ethiopia and Plenipotentiary Jemal Beker Abdula has said that his country has surplus tea as well as coffee which can be exported to Pakistan at affordable rates.

He said so during a meeting with members of a joint delegation of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and Pakistan Tea Association (PTA). In response, the representatives of FPCCI and PTA acknowledged that there indeed is a huge demand for tea and coffee in Pakistan, but lack of connectivity, quality control mechanisms and institutional linkages between the two countries are hampering progress in this area.

“Currently, Ethiopian tea is coming (to Pakistan) from other channels, but we are working on different agreements in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan to enable Pakistan and Ethiopia to boost their trade in diverse areas,” said the ambassador.

He said work on establishing connectivity and institutional linkages between the two countries for social, economic, and political cooperation is underway. He assured the delegation that there would be no compromise on the quality of tea and coffee to be exported from Ethiopia.

He said that confidence-building measures would be taken for Pakistani traders so that trade between the two countries could go to the next level.

He said his government is “opening up Ethiopia” by introducing legal, institutional and economic reforms that ensure security, ease of doing business and environment needed for FDI.

“The Ethiopian Airlines will start its operations in Karachi by the beginning of next year,” the ambassador announced at the meeting. He said that he had already announced a visit of an inclusive business delegation of Pakistan to Ethiopia so that they could understand business dynamics there and establish business-to-business ties.

Jemal Beker Abdula stressed that the focus of Ethiopia’s embassy is on economic diplomacy, investment, trade, tourism promotion, technological transfer and establishment of institutional linkages between the two countries. The two governments have been working on many agreements which will be instrumental in increasing political cooperation, economic engagement and people-to-people contacts through tourism promotion.

“Bilateral trade between the two countries is minimal and amounts (only) to $78 million; however, my target is to take it to $300 million by the end of 2023,” remarked the ambassador.

“We have identified the products which will be exported to my country from Pakistan. Pakistani business community can contribute to Pakistan’s economic development by exporting rice, pharmaceutical products, medical equipment, sports items and construction material to my country.”

The government of Pakistan can import agricultural products, such as coffee, tea, pulses, oilseeds, and vegetables from Ethiopia at affordable prices which will eventually help it mitigate the growing demand of the edibles, said the Ethiopian ambassador.

Above all, Ethiopia is closely working with the government of Pakistan on climate change issues which brought one-third of the country under water and caused massive loss of life and economy.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Tea Association has expressed interest in becoming part of the Pakistani trade delegation that will go to Ethiopia in January 2023 to explore opportunities available in various sectors there.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022